For Michael Restrepo, the path to success was not a straight line. Instead, his journey was paved with hard-won lessons gleaned from past business ventures. Each one provided a steppingstone to his current enterprise, Restrepo Innovations, with which he enjoys remarkable success. At the heart of Michael Restrepo and Restrepo Innovations’ journey has been a constant source of learning, community, and personal and professional inspiration: CEDIA Expo/CIX.
Restrepo Innovations’ Distinct Niche
Restrepo Innovations has carved out a niche in the AV integration world. The firm specializes in custom integration services for an exclusive clientele. “We are ultra high-end, super concierge,” Restrepo explains. “Our customers are our closest friends, and we love that. We lean into it. That’s who we are.”
With a lean, highly skilled team of seven employees, Restrepo Innovations generates approximately $3.8 million in annual revenue, and it’s on a trajectory to reach $6 million around 2027. The team manages between 45 and 55 projects a year: a mix of smaller-scale jobs (i.e., $100,000 or less) that maintain cash flow and massive undertakings that sometimes exceed $1 million. This success, Restrepo says, is inextricably linked to the connections with and insights gleaned from manufacturers, fellow integrators and influencers at the AV industry’s premier gathering: CEDIA Expo/CIX.
CEDIA Expo/CIX as a Catalyst for Michael Restrepo
“[CEDIA Expo/CIX] has been this catalyst that taught me a lot,” he says. “To focus, be yourself, wear it and be happy with it.”
The show gave Restrepo the personal validation to pursue the concierge-tier market, a segment in which deep relationships and impeccable service are paramount. “[I decided] I’m going to be me,” he declares. “And that’s when we really started flourishing. We are ultra high-end. Customers fly us all over the world. We manage other integrators. We play owner’s rep. We do full installation support — everything around concierge.”
Restrepo’s confidence, built in no small part from CEDIA Expo/CIX, was essential in overcoming a significant mental hurdle for many business owners: breaking the $1 million revenue mark. “It feels like unobtainium,” Restrepo reflects candidly on the initial struggle to cross that barrier.
He continues, “CEDIA was the place that taught me that it’s OK to sell the big ticket…sell the big job. Even when it was just me and one other guy, [it was] like, ‘If you really believe, jump into the abyss and show them what you got.’ And we did that. And again, this is why we were able to grow.”
CEDIA Expo/CIX: A Playground Human Connection
Beyond strategic inspiration, CEDIA Expo/CIX provides a business owner’s oasis for discovering the tools that empower a modern integration firm. Restrepo points to back-end software platforms as examples of solutions he discovered and vetted at the show.
“D-Tools, WeQuote — you name it,” Restrepo enthuses. “[CEDIA Expo/CIX] has been that playground that allowed me to play with those tools and understand and see, Does it work for my business? Does it work for me?”
He continues, “And even talking with those [fellow business] owners. There would have been no way in the world for me to get any kind of interaction at that level without something like CEDIA Expo/CIX.”
Even apart from the incalculable new products all over the exhibit floor, Restrepo points to that direct access to decision-makers, as well as the opportunity for face-to-face feedback, as being among the most invaluable parts of the experience. It allows integrators not only to solve their own business challenges but also to shape the future of the products and services on which they rely.
Michael Restrepo: CEDIA Expo/CIX is a Homecoming
For Restrepo, the most powerful value of the event comes from the human element. He describes the show as a genuine homecoming…a family reunion for the AV industry. It is this sense of community that creates unexpected opportunities. To wit, one chance encounter on the CEDIA Expo/CIX show floor led to one of Restrepo Innovations’ most significant projects.
“I’ve got a project in Tennessee right now for $1.3 million. I have a design fee of $50,000 to design the project,” Restrepo shares. “The person who brought me in, the actual owner’s rep, met me at [CEDIA Expo/CIX].
He continues, “A guy walking around, I just spoke to him like a friend. And we had a cool conversation. [There was] no look of something to pull from them. We were just talking like family.”
That authentic connection, free of any sales agenda, made an enduring impression. “He called me after I left, out of nowhere,” Restrepo recalls. “He was like, ‘Hey Mike, you know that conversation? You [have] the right energy. I want you to come down and help me with this project.’”
For those who question the time and expense of attending any trade event, Restrepo offers a nuanced perspective. It is possible to go to any show and feel it was not worth it, but that outcome is a choice. The key, he argues, is to arrive with an open mind and a willingness to engage.
“I walk in with open eyes and open arms,” he declares. “I’m talking to integrators. I’m talking to manufacturers. I’m engaging.” Restrepo adds, “If you go in [with] that air, and you engage with the community with that real energy, it becomes so valuable.”
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Restrepo advises attendees to step outside their comfort zones. “Don’t go where you want to go,” he says, recognizing that people tend to drift to the familiar and the unchallenging.
“I know that sounds counterproductive,” he acknowledges, “but we a lot of times get fixated on the common.” Restrepo continues, “The whole point is to go to places and to engage with people that don’t feel comfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable, and you will find new pearls.” He adds, “That’s when the magic really happens.”
This philosophy of curiosity and human connection is the thread that runs through Restrepo Innovations’ success story. His mindset has enabled a small, focused team to achieve genuinely remarkable results, build a thriving company culture and change the lives of its employees. It is a culture born from and nurtured by the community he finds each year at CEDIA Expo/CIX.
For Restrepo, supporting industry events like CEDIA Expo/CIX is not only genuine but also a natural outgrowth of our interconnected success. “Each one of us should be a cheerleader of our community because it’s our responsibility,” he opines. “When the ship wins, we also win.”
CEDIA Expo/CIX 2026 is scheduled for Sept. 1-4 in Denver. More information is available at CEDIAexpo.com.
